Don't Be Ridiculous
by FLUFF-N-UTTER-1
Summary: After the convergence, what's next? Spoilers for season 5 finale. Touches on the whole team, but Matt and Lester provide the framework for this brief view into one version of what might come next. Introduces Mrs Lester and Connor's mum. (6.1)
1. Matt Has A Mission

**Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me, this is fan fiction, not for profit.**

6.1 - Don't Be Ridiculous –

Matt groaned in frustration. "Argh!" Why, he thought to himself, if he was going to come back and tell himself something, hadn't he been more clear with his message? Go back where? When?

Emily. She was speaking again. Oh, she had asked him what's wrong. "Nothing, he replied, "Fine." Shaking his head, he turned to join her and decided to focus on the here and now… do the job at hand.

"We're ready to go," said Emily.

Matt followed Emily into the parking area, but the sight that met their eyes was not the loaded SUV ready to go. The SUV was there, doors open and the equipment loaded, but nobody was in the vehicle. Connor was standing with his back against the garage wall, body bent forward with his hands on thighs. Abby was leaning in close, talking quickly to Connor in a low voice that Matt couldn't hear. Becker was standing a bit apart, eyes narrowed, watching intently…hmm it was almost as if he were watching a creature for some sign of danger, thought Matt.

"What's up?" asked Matt, "Why aren't we ready to go to the anomaly site?"

The three all spoke at once.

"Connor," began Abby.

"I'm fine!" huffed Connor, "No need to worry…"

"He was staggering," Becker said in a no nonsense tone of voice.

Turning to Matt, he continued "And walking sort of off kilter. He almost fell down. Reminds me of the time at the airport…," tilting his head back to look at Connor, he asked, "Remember Connor? With the G-Rex? And the concussion?"

Abby's head jerked upright at the last word. She looked directly at Becker, then slowly turned her head to look at Connor, narrowing her blue eyes. "Conn…what concussion?"

"It's nuthin' to worry about," he began.

Matt walked forward, until he was toe to toe with Connor. "Look up at me Connor," he demanded.

Connor tilted his head up, his dark brown eyes squinting to tiny slivers in the bright light from the garage ceiling.

"Does the light hurt your eyes?" asked Matt quietly.

"It's bright," admitted Connor.

"Does your head hurt?" continued Matt in an even quieter voice.

"Well… yeah," began Connor closing his eyes against the brightness "a bit…"

"Have you hit your head today?" interrupted Matt in a steely tone.

"Yeah…" Connor sighed, "more than once."

Bloody fool, thought Matt, doesn't he realize how serious this could be?

"Connor," Matt ordered, "You are going to medical. Now. You can't keep going on an adrenaline rush. No field work for you until doctor says you are cleared."

Ignoring Connor's sputtering, he turned to Abby and continued, "Take him into the ARC, make sure he gets to the clinic. We don't want him falling down in the halls some where."

Abby's face paled, but she grabbed Connor's hand and started him moving. "C'mon Conn."

A sudden crackling of static filled Matt's ear, then Jess's voice calmly asked "Are you there Matt?"

"Yes," Matt confirmed. He continued to confer with the field coordinator for another minute.

Turning to face Becker and Emily again, Matt directed Becker, "See if you can raise Bravo team and get them to meet us at the station…all teams are short handed."

Watching as Abby and Connor slowly left the parking garage, Matt shook his head. He knew he had to keep them alive, but they sure weren't making it easy.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x-_

Abby walked slowly with Connor's arm draped across her shoulder. "Connor," she began, "What was Becker talking about? He said something about that time at the airport…"

Connor sighed, he really loved being this close to Abby. Walking down the halls together, leaning on her, it was almost like that time in the Cretaceous… but he was really having to concentrate right now on putting one foot in front of the other.

"Abby," he said, "Really it was no big deal."

"No big deal? A concussion?" she exclaimed indignantly.

"No, no… I mean, yeah…" Connor fumbled with his words, "it was just…you had left to go back to the flat, and after we loaded up the anomaly locking device, Becker and Jenny insisted I get my head stitched up…"

"Stitched up," yelped Abby.

Oops, thought Conner… should have left that part out. "Well, yeah…the baggage cart was really hard," he continued, "and doctor stitched me head up and said it might be a mild concussion and to make sure someone kept waking me up for the next 24 hours."

"So why didn't you tell me then?" asked Abby quietly.

"Well, I was going to," stammered Connor "but when I got back to the flat, Jack was there…" his words trailed off into silence, as he remembered his first sight of Jack. It still made his stomach hurt to remember…there was a man wearing nothing but a towel running around Abby Maitland's apartment and it wasn't him.

Abby listened to Connor's rambling words, letting them sink in. She swallowed hard.

Connor sighed again, "And then it just didn't seem like a good time to talk."

"Connor," she said in a tiny voice, "I heard you stayed in the ARC for a few days… before moving into Lester's flat…"

"More than a few days actually," he chuckled.

Abby closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them again. Looking at Connor, she started again, "What did you do for the next 24 hours?"

"Played Babylon 5 all night with Becker," he responded with a grin.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x-_

Entering the ARC's control room, the pair made their way to the control center where Jess was sitting. She looked up at them in surprise.

"What are you two doing here," she asked.

"Connor needs a medic," Abby started to explain as Connor leaned back against the console.

"Don't touch the communications feed," exclaimed Jess, smacking Connor's arm, "I only just now got it back on…"

The swish of the ARC's external doors opening on the other side of the room interrupted her tirade. The three turned as one to stare at the soldiers pouring through the doorway

_-x-x-x-x-x-x-_

"Soldiers!" Jess's voice squeaked through the coms. On the garage ramp Becker slammed on the brakes of the SUV. He turned to look at Matt with a puzzled expression on his face.

"All our teams are out," he whispered.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x-_

Inside the control room, the soldiers set up a perimeter, guns pointed at the ready. Then, the sound of footsteps could be heard, stiletto heels clicking on the tile floor.

Jess saw the shoes first. Louboutin's she thought to herself. Her eyes travelled up from the shoes, following the slender legs upward to the classic black dress, and to the piercing eyes of the tall woman.

"Who are you," she asked, "and what are you doing breaking in here?"

"Yeah," chimed in Abby, knowing the coms were on, "What kind of woman invades the ARC with eight armed men?"


	2. What Kind of Woman

**Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me, this is fan fiction, not for profit.**

"What kind of woman invades the ARC with eight armed men?" echoed Emily from the back seat of the SUV.

Matt looked from Emily, then to Becker. Together, they exclaimed, "Helen!"

"Turn this vehicle around," Matt ordered, "We've got to get back into the ARC."

_-x-x-x-x-x-x-_

The unknown woman slowly turned her head, searching… taking in every detail of the ARC's control room before returning her gaze to the field coordinator and her two companions.

"Lester," she said imperiously, "James Lester. Where is he?"

"Who are you? This is a private facility," Jess started. "You're not authorized to be here."

The woman stepped closer towards the control center console.. Two of the soldiers quickly moved in beside her. Abby narrowed her eyes speculatively, they were her specific bodyguards she thought.

"Jessica Parker," began the woman in a steely voice.

"Eep," squeaked Jess, "How do you know my name?"

"Oh, I know a lot of things," replied the woman sardonically.

Abby's head snapped around quickly to stare at the women, "I've heard that before," she said slowly, shoulder muscles tensing "You sound quite a bit like someone I used to know."

_-x-x-x-x-x-x-_

Matt, Becker and Emily reentered the ARC. Emily quietly headed to the upper level, while Matt and Becker turned the other way towards the armory.

From her vantage point on the upper level, Emily whispered into the private com line to Matt, "There are six soldiers by the entry door, three on either side. The other two soldiers and the woman are all at the control center. Jess is in her chair, Abby and Connor are behind the console."

"What are those two doing there?" groaned Matt, "Never mind," he continued "Trust them to get into trouble. Wait for our signal, we'll be there as soon as possible."

Matt described the situation to Becker as he handed him two additional guns, and then picked up two for himself.

"There are too many people in close quarters," objected Becker. "The plan will never work."

"You got any better ideas?" asked Matt, "Cause I'm all set to listen" he paused waiting for Becker's response.

"It's dangerous," Becker started, "I don't want to see anyone hurt."

"Yeah," agreed Matt, "It is dangerous, but then so is having armed soldiers taking over the ARC. Let's go."

_-x-x-x-x-x-x-_

Jess's eyes widened at the sight of two familiar figures coming up the hallway behind the entry door. Matt's hand gestures seemed to be signaling something, but what?

"I don't believe we've met before," responded the woman to Abby's comment, "Who are you?"

"Abby Maitland" she replied coldly.

"Ah, yes," the woman replied coolly. If she noticed Abby's tone, she certainly didn't let it register. Turning her head a bit, the woman nodded at the man beside Abby in recognition, "And Connor Temple."

"Now," returning her stern gaze to Jess, the woman asked again, "Where is James Lester?"

Jess gulped. Abby noticed her eyes seemed to be staring beyond the woman.

"Offical Secrets Act! I'm not telling you anything!" the high pitched staccato squeal of words from Jess startled everyone.

As they turned to stare at the young woman, she dove to the side, scrambling behind the cabinetry. While in close synchronization, Becker entered the room, firing his loaded tranquilizer guns at the soldiers on the left. From up above, Emily fired down on the soldiers on the right with her tranquilizer guns. Matt moved straight up the middle, his tranquilizer gun found its first mark, then its second, but as he aimed at the woman the second soldier stepped forward into his line of fire. As the second soldier collapsed slowly to the floor, Matt stood face to face with the woman.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x-_

From behind the console, Abby tried to bring her EMD up to bear directly on the strange woman in front of her, only to stopped by Connor's sudden grasp of her arm.

"What are you doing," he squealed in alarm.

"Gonna shoot Helen Cutter!" Abby replied.

"Abby," hissed Connor eyes round with shock, "That's not Helen!"

"What do you mean Connor," snapped Abby, "Who else would invade the ARC with armed mercenaries? She's wearing a face mask, just like she did when she pretended to be Eve."

"No, no, no," said Connor encircling her with both arms as he tried to explain, "She's not the right shape."

Abby's eyebrows went up a notch at that comment. Not the right shape? Connor was noticing other women's shapes? "We'll have to talk about this later Connor," she hissed at him.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Matt moved forward warily, talking to the woman in a gentle voice. "Now, I need you to come with me…"

The woman's hand struck out, catching him across his throat. A quick step forward, another sudden motion, and suddenly Matt Anderson was flat on his back with a very expensive stiletto standing on his chest.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

But Abby," Connor continued, "Helen and Eve were both about the same size and shape, the face imaging kit was sort of like photoshop…putting a new face image on the body…look at her, this woman is taller, thinner...it…it…"

Abby's elbow to his stomach interrupted his explanation, "Oomph!" Connor huffed "It just wouldn't fit."

Standing, Abby pointed her EMD at the woman.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

"Really Abigail," snapped the woman, "This is getting tiresome."

"Miss Maitland," commanded Lester's stern voice as he entered the control room, "Lower your weapon."

Turning to survey the chaos, he continued "Anderson! Becker! Is this how you greet our guests?"

"Guests?" spluttered Matt.

"Lester who are they?" called Becker

Lester's lip curled, "May I introduce you to my wife and if I'm not mistaken, the minister's personal guard."

Becker looked up from where he was handcuffing the last of the unconscious soldiers. His eyes widened in shock. We just took out the minister's personal guard he thought in dismay…this is not good.

"Does she have security clearance to be here?" gasped Matt from his prone position on the floor.

"Don't be ridiculous," Lester chided, "Her security clearance is higher than yours and mine together. In fact," he continued, "it might be higher than the ministers."


	3. To The Hospital?

**Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me, this is fan fiction, not for profit.**

The woman hadn't said a word since Lester had entered the control room, but her sharp eyes noticed every detail of his appearance. The usually impeccable James Lester wasn't wearing his suit coat, but instead stepped gingerly through the room with an unbuttoned shirt and leaning on a cane. A glimpse of bandages could be seen surrounding his chest. She quickly turned her gaze to look down at Matt as Lester approached, hiding the sudden tremble in her lips with a hard frown.

"Mr. Anderson," she said, removing her foot slowly from his chest "Would you be so kind as to get the minister's guards some smelling salts and aspirin?"

Turning to face her husband, she stepped forward, "James," she suggested "perhaps we could move our discussion into your office."

"Certainly my dear," he responded. He held out his hand to her. She grasped it and stepped carefully over one of the fallen soldiers.

"Tsk, tsk," he murmured shaking his head, "I thought Whedon was one of your best."

"He is James," replied his wife, "He took two shots of whatever your man was shooting…he's the only reason I'm still standing."

"Ah, very good then," Lester breathed thankfully.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Abby stared as Lester and his wife walked out of the control room. They continued down the hallway, entering Lester's office and shutting the door. She could see Lester making his way to the big desk, while his wife moved to close the privacy blinds on the glass wall. Lester's wife, she thought in amazement. Who would have thought? Well Connor obviously…

"Connor!" she cried spinning around to face him.

He was slowly straightening up, one arm wrapped across his stomach. He took a step back at her cry.

"You're not gonna hit me again are you?" he asked looking wary.

"Oh Connor, no," she said remorsefully, "I didn't mean it… didn't mean to hurt you."

He swayed on his feet, "You never mean it," he mumbled, "but still …"

Her blue eyes filled at his unspoken words. "Connor," said Abby softly, moving forward to wrap her arms around him, "can you stand still?"

"What? `m standing still," Connor replied swaying against her as he spoke.

"Jess," called Abby softly watching as Becker carefully helped the young field coordinator into her chair. Abby leaned her head on Connor's chest, holding him tighter, trying to still him "Where's the medic?"

"Buzzing them through the security gate right now Abby," replied Jess briskly.

"You might want to call another for the soldier that took the two tranquilizer shots," added Becker.

Looking beyond him, Abby saw the soldier called Whedon, still lying on the floor. A frowning Matt knelt at his side waving a bottle of what could only be Emily's smelling salts. Emily could be seen further down the hall leading the other soldiers to the break room.

Becker's voice interrupted her reverie, "Connor," he said, "You really need to sit down mate." He rolled a chair towards the pair. "Won't do any good if you fall down on top of Abby."

"Might be fun though," they both said at the same time. Blue eyes met brown with a brief twinkle. Abby felt Connor sway against her.

"Connor."

"Yeah Abby…"

"Sit down."

Sighing, Connor sat down.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

As the privacy blinds came together, the woman turned to face Lester. He was leaning on the desk, his mask forgotten, watching her with a look of concern.

"To what do I owe the honor of your visit?"

"Oh James," the woman replied in a rush of words, "The anomalies…they opened everywhere, there was even one in Aylesbury."

At the mention of the town where their children attended school, Lester's head jerked up.

Catching the look in his eyes, she started shaking her head, "No, no, no James. They're all right." Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she brought her emotions under control and continued, "I went and got them out of there… brought them home. Mother's with them now, in the safe room at the estate."

Lester closed his eyes with relief at yet another miracle.

"But James," she continued, "When I spoke to the minister, he said there had been an incursion… in the ARC…no one was answering …so I came..." her voice trailed off.

He looked at her carefully. His calm, cool and collected wife was standing in front of him… trembling. He did the only thing he could.

James Lester stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, whispering her name softly into her ear.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

The medic was shining his light into Connor's eyes. It was bright and he was trying not to squint too hard as the medic directed him, "Look up, look down, left… right." He snapped the light off, much to Connor's relief.

"Now you said you were having difficulty standing…" continued the medic, "Right?"

"No," objected Connor, "They said it." He pointed in the general direction of Abby and Becker. The medic turned his head to look.

Becker, straightened, crossing his arms across his chest with a menacing scowl. "Connor," he started.

"Well, I'm not having difficulty standing, now am I," asked Connor, "I'm sitting."

Abby glared. "Connor, you need to tell him about hitting your head," she demanded.

"Which time?"

"All of the times," she replied in exasperation.

"Well, I don't know if I can remember all of the times…hit my head a lot you know…"

"Connor," she snapped, ""All of the times…when you hit your head … and blacked out…today."

"Oh," he sighed, "Well, the first time was in the car with Phillip… there was a dinosaur in the parking garage, and one minute we were driving, the next I was waking up on the floor of the parking garage in an upside down car and Phillip was leaving."

"Phillip just left you?" asked Matt, turning his gaze away from the man on the floor and looking sharply at Connor and the group surrounding him.

"Well yeah," began Connor.

"Tell you later Matt," interrupted Abby, "Connor, answer the man."

"What," Connor said in confusion.

"Any bumps, bruises, or swelling?" repeated the medic.

"Huh," replied Connor.

"When you crashed and hit your head," said the medic slowly and carefully, "Do you have any bumps, bruises or swelling?"

"Well yeah," grinned Connor, "Got a right goose egg here on the back of me skull from when I fell through the…"

"Floor," interrupted Matt.

"Huh," said Connor in confusion.

"Yeah," added Abby, "after you climbed on the machine," she said emphasizing the last word with a knowing look. "You slipped and fell to the floor below."

A groan from the man on the floor distracted everyone, the soldier was coming around.

_x-x-x-x-x-x_

All eyes watched as the soldier opened his eyes, blinked once, then spun into action.

For the second time today, Matt found himself flat on his back, this time with a very angry soldier kneeling on his chest. "Where is she," he demanded.

"Wh…" Matt tried to respond, but the hands gripping his throat made it impossible.

From a distance, he heard Becker's voice calling to the other man, "Whedon, Whedon," but the look of determination on the soldier's face told Matt that nothing was stopping those hands.

Becker knew how the soldier felt, assigned to protect someone, and then…to find them gone. Only one thing was going to stop Whedon from strangling Matt. "Jess," he called "get Lester's wife out here now."

_x-x-x-x-x-x_

The voice on the intercom crackled through the quiet in Lester's office.

"Yes Jessica," Lester replied. They listened to her hurried words, looking at each other with eyes widening in horror. Turning quickly, they both made for the doorway.

"Just a minute dear," called Lester. She stopped to look at him. He reached out a hand and brushed a tendril of hair back into place. She reached out her hand, straightening his collar. Then as one, they turned, masks in place and stepped out to take on the world.

"Whedon" called Lester's wife, "Unhand that man at once."

_x-x-x-x-x-x_

Once Whedon had seen that his charge was alive and well, he had calmed down quickly. The second emergency responder was there now checking him out.

Abby turned to look back at the medic that had been attending Connor. She heard him speaking quietly into his radiophone, "Patient presents with multiple contusions and lacerations, witnesses indicate he has been unsteady standing and walking, conversation with patient is rambling and incoherent …he appears to have trouble remembering what happened to him…"

"Oh no," she tried to explain, but the medic ignored her and continued listening to the other person on the radiophone.

"Yes," he agreed, "Will bring him in directly." Calling to his aide, the medic ordered "Bring the trolley over now."

Wheeling it in, the two emergency responders urged Connor to lie down, "Stretch out," suggested the medic, "Lie down and relax, then we will buckle you in and get going."

"What?" asked Connor, his mouth opening and shutting like a fish.

"We're going to take you in to the hospital," explained the medic, "We think you might have a severe concussion."

"No," said Abby trying again to explain, "He's always like this."

"Don't be ridiculous," responded the medic.


	4. Does Anyone Speak Latin?

**Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me, this is fan fiction, not for profit.**

"No, no, no," exclaimed Connor, "I don't want to go to the hospital."

Lester turned at the sound of Connor's distress. Narrowing his eyes, he took in the situation. With a quick nod at his wife, he stepped away from her leaving her talking with Whedon. As he approached the medic, he heard Abby's quick words.

"It's just the way he always talks."

"I'm not…" started the medic.

"What's going on here," demanded Lester huffily.

"They want to take me to the hospital," exclaimed Connor, his big brown eyes looking pitiful.

Lester looked at Conner, "What have you done to yourself this time?" he asked. "You know how I hate filling out injury reports."

The medic spoke before Connor could begin, "Doctor wants to see him…signs and symptoms might indicate a concussion… don't know how severe, but he needs to be checked out." His heavy hand forced Connor back onto the trolley, he and the aide started tightening straps, "Now if you don't mind," continued the medic, "I have to get my patient to the hospital."

"Well then," sniffed Lester, "Don't let me keep you."

They started wheeling Connor out.

"Abby," he wailed.

"Connor," she replied stepping forward to follow him, "I'm coming with you."

"No you're not," said the medic brusquely, "We've not got the space in the ambulance after the day we've had… all those creatures…" he shuddered. At the shocked, disbelieving look on her face, the medic added in a kinder voice, "We'll be taking him to St. Andrew's… you can meet us there."

The doors swung shut, cutting off Connor's protests, leaving Abby standing there, staring.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Lester reached over to pat Abby's shoulder reassuringly, "It will be all right," he said with a voice of quiet assurance, "can't possibly be another concussion."

Abby listened to Lester's words incredulously, "Another?" she spluttered, "Just how many injury reports have you had to fill out on Connor?"

"More than I care to," he admitted, "but right now, he is in good hands, so do try not to worry. We'll get one of the soldiers to drive you over…"

"Lester," interrupted Matt, "I'll take Abby to St. Andrew's."

"You?" questioned Lester, "I thought you were handling the anomaly alert at King's Cross station. Don't you have a job to do?"

"Yes," agreed Matt, "I do, but if you had your com on, you would have heard… Bravo team radioed back. They got the passengers from the train at King's Cross out of the anomaly and back to the station with some help from the local folks, but they couldn't do anything about the train. The anomaly has closed, leaving half the train in the past."

Lester groaned, "Now how am I going to explain that to the minister?"

"I don't know," continued Matt, "but Bravo team leader wants to know, do we have anyone on staff that speaks Latin?

"Whatever for?" asked Lester.

"Well," said Matt, "I'd guess it's to talk to the Roman legionnaires. They should be here in about ten minutes."

Turning towards the door, he grabbed Abby by the arm, "Let's go catch up with Connor."

They marched past Lester, still standing with his mouth open, for once, not saying anything.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Abby stared out the window blankly as Matt drove the SUV towards St. Andrew's, worrying, it must be serious if Connor had to go to hospital she thought.

"Abby," Matt began talking as he turned the steering wheel, "When Connor was telling the medic about hitting his head, he said something… about an accident in the car with Phillip…"

"Yeah," she said, "They met with a Caprasucus on the way to Prospero…"

She fell silent for a moment, then began again, "The car flipped…Connor…" Abby swallowed hard at the memory, "he couldn't get out… couldn't shut the car door…and Phillip…" she continued bitterly, "Phillip had taken the charger out of the EMD…and he just left Connor…he called me on the cell…if I hadn't got there when I did…"

Matt listened as her voice trailed off, wondering to himself what kind of man would deliberately do that.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

"Look up, look down, left… right," the doctor directed Connor.

"I'm all right," Connor protested.

"Well, I'll be the judge of that," responded the doctor.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Matt stopped the SUV at the hospital entrance. Looking closely at Abby's strained face, he wondered how she was holding up. It had been a horrific day, one disaster after another, and now a trip to the hospital too.

"You going to be alright?" he asked with a concerned tone.

"Yeah," she said with a small smile as she stepped down out of the vehicle, "I'll find him, you go see what Lester needs now."

"Call when you're ready to leave, and I'll send Becker back to get you both," he replied. He watched for a moment longer as she walked through the sliding glass doors and approached the information desk. Turning the SUV back towards the ARC, he told himself, focus, focus on the mission.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

The elevator chimed and opened the door to the eleventh floor. Abby stepped out, looking for directions to room 1138, looking for Connor.

He looked pale, was Abby's first thought as she entered his room. Or maybe it was just the stark lights and bright white linens … she hoped.

Connor opened his eyes at the sound of her approach. "Abby," he said with a dimpled grin "are you here to take me home?

"No Connor," she began. Her heart ached as she watched his shoulders slump dejectedly.

"I spoke with one of the nurses, she said the doctor wants to keep you overnight for observation."

"Nothing wrong with me," he protested, "I'm just tired."

"I know," soothed Abby, "but it's better to be safe than sorry, yeah."

Taking a deep breath, she continued, "The doctor wants to schedule an MRI for you tomorrow, then if the results are okay, you can come back to the flat with me."

"Who?" asked Connor.

"The doctor" repeated Abby, "He insists on an MRI… based on your history."

"Oh," sighed Connor.

"Conn…"

"Yeah Abby."

"After the terror birds, and the car accident with the tree … when you had the concussion, why didn't you tell me?" she asked.

"Well," he began, "I didn't want to bother you with my troubles… you had Jack with you then… and Lester… he said I couldn't stay at the ARC …"

He began to feel uncomfortable as Abby stared at him silently. "Well, the doctor said it was a concussion for sure and someone had to keep watch and …so Lester offered me a place to stay..."

Connor turned and reached over to the bedside table for the water glass. The gown opened briefly at his movement to show a glimpse of his backside. Abby's eyebrows rose in appreciation of the view. There were some good things about hospitals.

"Lester stays at the flat in town during the week, his wife is there frequently as well…they took turns waking me up for the next 24 hours." Connor concluded his tale.

"They're loud you know," added Connor conspiratorially. "She's a screamer. Or maybe," his eyes opened wide with surprise at the sudden thought, "it's Lester that's the screamer."

Connor and Abby looked at each other.

"Ridiculous!" they both agreed.


	5. Sorting Themselves

**Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me, this is fan fiction, not for profit.**

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

As Matt entered the control room, he saw Lester and his wife standing beside the detector talking.

"Where is everyone," he asked.

The woman replied, "Whedon has taken my men and the legionnaires back to our facility."

Hmmm, thought Matt, "What facility?"

"Mine of course," she answered, "Whedon speaks Latin," she added, as if that answered everything.

"James," she continued looking directly at her husband, "I'll see you later, back at the flat."

"Yes, yes," Lester agreed distractedly frowning at the papers in his hands. He looked up though as she stepped closer, tilting her head down to bring her lips in to meet his.

"Don't be late," she admonished as they separated.

Both men stared as she turned and walked away. The sound of heels clicking on the tile faded slowly, then disappeared altogether as she turned down the hallway.

"MI5 you know," Lester confided quietly, as if sharing a state secret. And thought Matt, it probably was.

"Her hands are lethal weapons, she was being gentle with you earlier."

Matt involuntarily brought his hand up to his throat, tenderly touching the bruise.

"She knows dozens of ways to make a man scream."

Matt turned his head to stare at Lester, jaw dropping open.

"We were lucky today, Lester continued, "Not just us personally, the ARC mind you, London…the country… the whole bloody planet really. We just barely stopped Phillip and Helen's madness…" his voice trailed off.

Matt started to speak, "Lester…"

"No, Matt," interrupted Lester, "Let's just be grateful for today, shall we. And you especially…I don't want to catch you looking up my wife's dress again.

"But…but…I didn't," spluttered Matt as Lester abruptly walked back to his office, leaving Matt standing there with his mouth wide open, again.

A slender hand reached up and pushed his lower jaw up. Matt looked down to the face of a beautiful Victorian, and thoroughly modern, lady.

"And I don't want to catch you looking up his wife's dress again either," Emily said.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

The nurses had been kind enough to let her stay a little past the end of visiting hours, but finally they said she had to go, it was late. Abby stood on the sidewalk waiting for Becker pick her up in one of the ARC's vehicles, thinking over the events of the day… this very long day.

She was lost in her thoughts and didn't hear Becker when he called her at first.

"Abby," he repeated.

She looked up at him in surprise. The little red sports car he was driving was definitely not a government vehicle.

"Ready to go home now?" he asked her kindly as she climbed into the car and settled back into the soft depths of the seat.

She nodded.

"Abby," he said, "you're gonna have to help me out here. I need directions. Since you and Connor have returned, and you're not in the same flat… I don't know where you two live now."

Startled, Abby gave her friend directions to the flat they shared with Jess.

As he drove, she sat quietly, thinking, remembering the events since they had come back from the Cretaceous. She and Connor hadn't really had much time for a social life before with their job at the ARC, and even less since their return. They had met up with Becker and some of the others at a pub, but really they didn't have a lot of time off. And staying with Jess, well…although Jess was wonderful, that just wasn't home. That was something that needed to change she determined.

As Becker pulled up in front of the building, Abby looked around, an expression of concern on her sweet face.

"Do you know if any anomalies opened near here today?"

"Can't really remember," Becker replied. Looking at Abby with a puzzled frown, he thought, was she frightened? Maybe, it had been a crazy day after all.

"Why don't I just see you up to the flat," he said.

Abby gave him a small smile as he parked the car, "Thank you Becker.

They encountered no creatures on their way up to the flat. Abby's hands shook and she banged the door several times as she inserted keys into locks, when the door sprang open in front of her.

"Abby, Connor" greeted Jess, "I've been so worried…" her words trailed off as she realized the pair in front of her were not quite who she expected.

Abby breezed past Jess into the flat, leaving Jess and Becker staring at each other.

"I'll just put the kettle on," she called back to them, "both of you go sit down, and I'll bring you a cuppa."

Becker's here! In my flat! And I'm standing here wearing my Hello Kitty pajamas thought Jess.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

From the kitchen, Abby rattled dishes loudly as she fixed a tea tray. Don't want them to think I'm listening in on them, she thought as she turned the faucet on high and filled the kettle.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

"Come, come on in and sit down," urged Jess opening the door wider. Becker stepped into the flat slowly, looking around warily as if he expected a creature to leap out at any minute.

Jess shut the door firmly, and then marched right past him and led the way into the living area. Pointing to the sofa, she told him to make himself comfy and then sat down directly opposite him. Staring.

"How's your headache," asked Becker looking almost as mortified as Jess felt.

"Fine now," she replied. "I took some paracetamol."

Becker nodded, "Good thing," he said and could have kicked himself when he couldn't think of anything else to add. Here he was, finally alone with Jess, and... and... Becker groaned inwardly. Conversation languished as they sat there staring at each other.

The rattling of dishes on the tea tray alerted them to the approach of Abby. She set the tray on the table between them.

'Didn't know what you might want in your tea at this hour," she said, "so I brought a bit of everything. You two sort it out."

Jess and Becker looked up at her with a matching horrified expression on their faces.

'You're not staying?" stammered Jess.

"Don't be ridiculous," Abby chuckled, "I'm going to bed."

As she made her way to the bedroom, she heard the pair start talking. Debating the merits of honey versus sugar, milk or no milk… Abby grinned. Just got to get them talking, she thought, they can sort themselves out then.


	6. No

**Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me, this is fan fiction, not for profit.**

James Lester awoke with his feet dangling off the edge of the queen size bed. Careful not to wake his wife, he wriggled first the toes on his right foot, then the toes on his left. Reaching his arms up above his head he started to stretch, but a sudden sharp pain reminded him of yesterday's activities. No, don't want to pull those stitches out he thought. Turning to look at the beautiful woman snuggled beside him, brown hair cascading across her bare shoulders, his lips curled up in a tender smile.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Abby arrived at the hospital earlier than visiting hours started, but the nurses let her go on in to see Connor. He was just finishing his breakfast when she entered his room.

The dimpled smile he gave her, lifted a weight from Abby that she didn't even know she had been carrying. He looked better this morning, right? So he could take this, right?

"Abby," he greeted her happily, "I didn't think I would get to see you until after work."

"Can't stay long Connor," she said shortly as she crossed the room to close in on him. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her in closer, his lips meeting hers before she even realized it.

"You put hot sauce on your eggs again," she complained as she pushed herself away from him abruptly, straightening back up.

"Didn't know you were coming, now did I," responded Connor with a confused expression on his face. Why had she pulled away from him? "And I don't have a tooth brush anyway."

"Don't be so sure about that now," she replied frostily. Opening the bag, she handed him some of the necessities of modern life, including a tooth brush. Lastly, she pulled out his laptop.

"Oh Abby," he breathed, "you're the best."

"Better than those other women," asked Abby handing him the laptop. She hated herself for asking, hated the insecurity that made her ask, hated most of all that she was the reason for the hurt look in Connor's eyes.

"What?" Connor replied in shock. "What other women?"

Abby narrowed her eyes as she looked at him. "Connor," she said, "back at the ARC yesterday, you said something… about Lester's wife… not being the right shape… means you've been looking, yeah? We just got engaged, and there you are talking about other women…about their shapes…"

For a long moment, he just looked at her … his brown eyes so sad. She had always run hot and cold with him, had always left him wondering where he really stood with her, but this was too important. He couldn't let her take it back. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and spoke.

"Abby," Connor replied firmly, "No."

She looked at him in surprise. Connor never said no to her.

"You want to explain it then?" she asked carefully, waiting long moments for his answer. Instead, he asked her a question.

"Did you mean it?" he asked finally, "Yesterday… the whispered words, asking me to marry you? Did you mean any of it?

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Abby strode quickly into the ARC, determined to get to the menagerie before anyone saw her reddened eyes, but Lester had other plans.

"A word Abby," he said, "in my office."

Sighing, she followed him in and watched as he sat down behind the big desk. His hand shuffled the papers in front of him. Then he looked up at her and spoke.

"Abby," he began "I need your help."

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Matt was going through the security film footage from yesterday. He watched when the future predators entered the ARC through the prototype Connor had built, but there was something else. Another shape came through the anomaly. Matt couldn't tell what it was from the brief image, but he knew one thing for sure. That wasn't a future predator.

Predators didn't have hands capable of turning off a security camera.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Abby left work at lunch. Determined to make things right, she entered the hospital for the second time that day. Walking quickly, head held high, she marched straight into room 1138.

"Connor," she started, "We have to talk." But then she realized… she was speaking to an empty room.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Matt was going over his findings with Lester and Becker, when Jess buzzed on the intercom.

"It Abby, she sounds hysterical," said Jess, "she's at the hospital, but Connor is gone. The nurses said some woman with brown hair picked him up and they are saying he wasn't cleared to leave yet."

"Tell Abby we will be right there and try to calm her down," said Lester in a worried tone of voice.

All three men rose at once. They looked at each other. "We can't all go," said Lester.

"Yes," agreed Matt, "Becker and I will go."

"No," responded Lester, "I'm going. One of you will have to stay here."

'Why you," sniped Matt.

"One – I'm in charge" Lester sneered, "in case you have forgotten that. And two, I have to bring the insurance forms for that young fool." And he strode out of the office.

"Becker, you stay here," said Matt, "I'll drive Lester and that will give you time to sort out what supplies we need in the armory.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Lester groaned as the SUV stopped in front of St. Andrew's hospital. "That is the last time," he huffed "you are ever driving me anywhere."

They entered the hospital and caught an elevator to the eleventh floor. The nurses directed them to room 1138 where they found Abby, sitting in the visitor's chair. Her feet were drawn up and her arms wrapped around her legs. Chin on her knees, she stared blankly at the empty bed where Connor was supposed to be.

"Abby," said Matt gently, "Can you tell us what's happened?"

The blonde looked up at him with tears in her eyes, "We had an argument this morning, and I left… went to work … then came back and he was gone…no one knows where he is."

"He was supposed to have some sort of test today… an MRI wasn't it," asked Lester.

"Yes," replied Abby. "But the nurses said he wasn't here when they came for him."

Matt and Lester exchanged a worried look.

"Just a thought," asked Lester, "Have you tried calling his cell?"

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Connor heard a familiar ringtone coming from his jeans pocket.

He smiled down softly at the petite woman next to him, "Would you hold this please," he asked handing her the pizza box.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Abby jumped out of the chair, surely that had been Connor's phone. She would recognize the ring tone he had chosen for her calls anywhere.

She ran into the hallway, closely followed by Lester and Matt. They almost bumped into her at her abrupt stop.

Facing them, in front of the elevator doors was Connor, handing a woman a pizza box. He reached into his pocket and brought a cell phone up to his ear. "Abby," he replied into the phone.

"Connor," she called.

Startled at the sound of her voice, he looked up at her, "Abby," he repeated.

The woman turned to face them. Petite, plump, brown hair starting to show some gray, she had to be Connor's mother thought Matt. Recognition sparked in her eyes, she took first one step forward, then another. Before he knew it, this intimidating little woman was within inches of the group.

"You," the woman glared. Beside him, Matt felt Lester take a step backward. "We need to talk," she said to Lester.

"Mrs. Temple," he responded weakly. "Certainly."

Her head snapped around to look appraisingly at Matt, then continued past him to settle her gaze on Abby.

"Then, I'll want a word with you."


	7. Official Secrets Act

**Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me, this is fan fiction, not for profit.**

Connor's mother had dragged Lester off, and Matt had discretely left… to find a phone… even though he had his cell phone and com with him. That left Abby and Connor standing alone in the corridor, staring at each other.

"We should talk," she said.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, "Yeah," he agreed.

But the two nurses had other ideas. Berating him for leaving the hospital without being discharged, they didn't listen to Connor's attempts to explain. Lunch with his mother was not a good reason to miss an MRI in their opinion. They insisted he change back into his hospital gown. Once done, they bundled him into a wheelchair in spite of his protests.

"The doctor," the younger red headed nurse reminded him sternly "says you're to have an MRI." Abby stared in a daze as they absconded with him.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Matt settled into a chair in the waiting room. Opening up his smart phone, he started searching… creature sightings, right? Wasn't that what Connor had said led him to the anomalies in the first place? What else had come through yesterday? And maybe he should find out some more about Lester's wife… but what was her first name? He couldn't just google Mrs. James Lester…could he?

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Abby was lost in thought when Connor's mum came up behind her.

"Perhaps," the older woman began bitingly, "we should have our talk in there." She gestured toward Connor's room. "It'll be a bit more private."

Nodding with trepidation, Abby began to follow the woman.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

The pretty red haired nurse wheeled Connor back into the room in time for him to hear his mother's last words.

Abby and Connor's mum turned to look at him in surprise.

"Thought you were supposed to have an MRI," said Abby with a questioning tone.

"Machine's broke," he said rising from the wheelchair. His face flushed and he looked away from Abby, apparently finding a need to stare at the beside lamp.

"I'll just leave you lot," said the nurse as she backed out of the room in embarrassment. "Remember, I'll be back at three and we'll try this again," she added.

Abby closed her eyes, the nurse must have heard some of what Connor's mum had been saying she thought… which meant Connor heard too.

"Connor," began his mother, "I was just telling …"

"Mum," he interrupted firmly, looking directly at his mother, "No."

Connor's mother looked up at him in confusion. He had never said no to her like that before. She opened her mouth to speak, but Connor cut her off.

"You mustn't talk to Abby like that."

"Mustn't?" she began incredulously, rolling her eyes in exasperation, "Mustn't talk to some one who treats my child…"

Each word Connor's mother spoke seemed louder than the last to Abby, and she just wanted to sink into the floor.

"Mum," he interrupted again. "I'm a grown man," he reminded her, "not a little boy who needs his mum to chase the bullies away."

"Abby and I will sort things out," he closed his eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, and continued, "or not… on our own terms."

The woman visibly deflated at his words, shoulders sagged and her eyes filled with tears.

Abby was still reeling from the woman's words, and Connor's… did she really come across as a bully?

"Mum," said Connor in a softer voice, "I love you, and I know you mean well, but this is between Abby and meself. I can handle my own," he stopped for a moment, flustered, "relationships," he concluded.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Abby and Connor watched from the doorway of his room, as his mother got into the elevator with Lester and Matt. Their boss had offered to take her back to her hotel as he and Matt were passing it on their return to the ARC. Privately, Abby thought, Lester was trying to get on Mrs. Temple's good side, surely she had a good side.

Connor turned to look at Abby, "Why," he asked simply "did you come back?"

"I wanted," she faltered "to… to make things right, you know…between you and me."

"Abby," he began quietly "I fancied you from the first moment I saw you, but it wasn't until later, after I'd had the chance to know you that I really …" he swallowed hard and began again. "When I thought that I had lost you, that's when I knew…I love you Abigail Sarah Maitland…want to spend the rest of my life with you, but I need to know that…"

"Yes," she interrupted, "I love you too... I meant every word... and I want to spend the rest of my life with you… but I'm scared…" her bottom lip trembled, but she continued, "I've told you what my parents were like…"

Connor remembered what she had told him. The light bulb finally clicked on.

"Abby," he said gently, stepping closer, "I'm never gonna leave you." He wrapped his arms around her, bringing her even closer. "Whether you and I are the only two people in the world, or whether we're in a world full of other women…you are the only woman that matters… to me," he whispered.

She looked up into his eyes, "Best not tell your mum that," she advised.

Their lips met. For a few moments, time stopped. The world went away, and it was just the two of them, as it should be.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Trying to make small talk on the ride over to the hotel, Lester asked Connor's mother, "What brought you to London?"

She looked at him sharply, gave him a look that seemed to question his intelligence thought Lester.

"Your wife," she replied "was kind enough to let me know my son had been taken to the hospital…should have been you calling," she admonished Lester. "Next thing you know you will be losing him again like you did before…really you know… you should be more careful…" she continued on chiding him.

Matt smirked at little at Lester's sigh, very glad that he was driving.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

The silence in the SUV was a welcome relief thought Lester after they had dropped off Connor's mother. Shame to break it, but he needed to let Matt know of the coming changes… challenges…oh bloody hell, just get on with it he told himself.

"Matt," he said, "You're aware that people come through anomalies as well as creatures?"

"Hmmph," Matt snorted with amusement, "You mean like me and the rest of us…the staff at the ARC? Or Helen? Or are you talking about ordinary people caught up like Ethan and that medieval knight and the legionnaires yesterday?"

Lester closed his eyes in annoyance. Maybe that hadn't been the best way to begin.

He tried again, "Sort of, but that's not exactly the point I was trying to make," replied Lester.

"Well what did you mean Lester?" Matt asked impatiently as he pulled into the parking garage.

"People… all sorts of people… from many different time periods…come through anomalies," said Lester tiredly "much more frequently than creatures."

Matt gripped the steering wheel of the SUV tightly as he tried to process that thought. More frequently? He pulled in between the lines, parking the car. As he cut the engine off, he turned to look directly at Lester, but the questions he was going to ask stayed unspoken as Lester continued to speak.

"We're not the only ARC in England you know… in fact, England is not the only country to have an ARC."

"What?" asked Matt in amazement.

"My wife," said Lester proudly, dropping his mask ever so briefly, "She heads up the London office that deals with people… returns the one's she can… finds homes for the ones she can't… those legionnaires… they're going to Rome, the Italian ARC has already found a place for them… they'll be working as historical re-enactors at the Coliseum."

Lester paused, letting his words sink in. Letting Matt come to grips with what he was saying.

"The anomaly detector we use is set to find anomalies that are open to time periods over ten thousand years ago…her ARC has a detector calibrated to detect anomalies that lead to more recent time periods…we would never have found Emily's Victorian anomaly if it hadn't been fused with the other one…"

Matt just stared. How could I have missed this he asked himself. What else is going on? He couldn't complete his mission without all the information.

"You know," began Matt, "I don't believe I caught your wife's name…"

Lester turned his head slowly, looking directly at Matt, his narrowed eyes flashing dangerously. "You didn't" he said curtly, "official secrets act."

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

A/N – I hope you enjoyed reading one more version of the Primeval multi-verse as much as I have enjoyed reading the other creative stories on this website. Thank you for reading.


End file.
